There are 177,147 ways to fasten a necktie, it has emerged - 1,000 times more than previously thought.

But the study was not prompted by higher theories of mathematics, but a flamboyant knot worn by a super-villain in Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix Reloaded.

The Merovingian, named after a French
royal dynasty, wore his tie in the little-known Ediety knot, which
features two loops around the top of the knot and leaves the skinny part
of the tie hanging on top.

Unorthodox: Fans were flummoxed at trying to copy the tie knot worn by The Merovingian (pictured) in The Matrix Reloaded - as the style was hidden much of the time by it being a black tie on a black shirt

Tradition: For years men have opted for the Windsor (right) or the Half Windsor (left) - there are 177,145 others

His
was perhaps the most unusual in a series of unorthodox tie knots in the
film trilogy, which prompted viral tutorial videos on Youtube from fans
trying to copy their style.

Mathematician
Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson, of the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in
Stockholm, Sweden, watched the videos and realised the 'Merovingian
knot' was missing from a major 2000 study by researchers at Cambridge
University.

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Along with three other mathematicians, he created a formula for devising tie knots using just three symbols, W, T and U.

He said: 'T is a clockwise (turnwise) move of the
knot-tying blade, W is a counter-clockwise move, and U tucks the blade
under a previous bow.

'Whether to start with an inwards or outwards
crossing can be deduced by counting the total number of W and T in the
knot description string, and all possible strings in W and T produce
possible tie knots.'

And now for something completely different: The random knot generator lists some of the combinations

Fancy something different today? The website features complicated letter-based sequences

It'll tie you up in knots: One of the 177,000 tie knots which can be achieved according to new research

From the tool, known in logic as formal language theory, he has created a random tie generator which uses the mathematics to teach internet users how to tie random knots.

According to the New Scientist, the Cambridge researchers had wrongly assumed people would only make a tuck – folding one end of the tie under the rest to finish the knot – at the end, and that all knots would be covered by a flat stretch of fabric.

But their theory did not account for the elaborate knots found in The Matrix, with several tucks and ruffled fabric.

The researchers also changed one crucial rule - the limit to how many winding moves people could make before their tie became ludicrously short.

The team put that number at 11 - meaning there are 177,147 possible knots in the world. But who could find enough time to tie them all?